NES plans cannon blast to scare birds from substations

Nashville Electric Service on Wednesday will set off cannons that produce loud noises imitating firecrackers to try to disrupt birds near the Madison and Pennington Bend substations.

According to an NES news release, the sound devices are to be triggered from 4 p.m. until after dark in both Madison and Pennington Bend.

“The birds create a problem for us because they leave droppings on our substation equipment,” Eddie Andrews, NES operations manager, said in a written statement. “Over time, the droppings can cause an electrical fault which results in a power outage like it did in Madison [Tuesday] morning.”

The news release says that the sound devices will be used every evening for several weeks.

The Pennington Bend Substation is on Pennington Bend Road in Donelson. The Madison Substation is at 221 Douglas Road.